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19 November 2021
Former Law Firm Partner Arrested for Cyberstalking Multiple VictimsRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging WILLIE DENNIS with cyberstalking partners of DENNIS’s former law firm. DENNIS, a U.S. citizen, was arrested this week in the Dominican Republic and will be presented today in Manhattan federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Lorna G. Schofield.
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
From at least in or about 2018, up to and including in or about November 2020, WILLIE DENNIS, a former partner at a prominent national law firm (the “Firm”), engaged in a campaign of harassment, intimidation, and threats against multiple individuals, including other partners, who worked at the Firm. As part of that campaign, DENNIS sent the victims thousands of harassing, threatening, and intimidating emails and text messages.
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DENNIS, 59, of New York, New York, is charged with four counts of cyberstalking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2261A(2)(b). Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah L. Kushner is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Former Kay County Oklahoma Supervisory Corrections Officer Indicted for Civil Rights ViolationsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment charging a former Kay County Oklahoma supervisory corrections officer with federal civil rights violations.
The indictment alleges that on May 18, 2017, Matthew Ware, while acting in his official capacity as a supervisory corrections officer of the Kay County Detention Center (KCDC) in Newkirk, Oklahoma, was deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of serious harm to two pretrial detainees, identified in the indictment only as D.W. and M.M. According to the indictment, Ware ordered KCDC corrections officers to move D.W. and M.M. to a cell row housing inmates whom Ware knew posed a danger to D.W. and M.M., and then ordering corrections officers to unlock the jail cells of D.W., M.M. and those other inmates at the same time. Corrections officers followed Ware’s orders, and D.W. and M.M. were physically attacked by the other inmates. D.W. and M.M. sustained bodily injury as a result.
The indictment further alleges that on Jan. 31, 2018, Ware, while acting in his official capacity as a supervisory corrections officer of the KCDC, violated the constitutional rights of a pretrial detainee, identified in the indictment only as C.D., by ordering KCDC corrections officers to apply restraints to C.D. in an unreasonable manner. C.D. sustained bodily injury as a result.
If convicted, Ware faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $ 250,000 on each count.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Robert Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Oklahoma City FBI Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Barry of the Western District of Oklahoma and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Former Kay County Oklahoma Supervisory Corrections Officer Indicted for Civil Rights ViolationsRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY—A federal grand jury has returned a three-count indictment charging a former Kay County Oklahoma supervisory corrections officer with federal civil rights violations, announced Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Robert Troester of the Western District of Oklahoma.
The indictment alleges that on May 18, 2017, Matthew Ware, while acting in his official capacity as a supervisory corrections officer of the Kay County Detention Center (KCDC) in Newkirk, Oklahoma, was deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of serious harm to two pretrial detainees, identified in the indictment only as D.W. and M.M. According to the indictment, Ware ordered KCDC corrections officers to move D.W. and M.M. to a cell row housing inmates whom Ware knew posed a danger to D.W. and M.M., and then ordering corrections officers to unlock the jail cells of D.W., M.M., and those other inmates at the same time. Corrections officers followed Ware’s orders, and D.W. and M.M. were physically attacked by the other inmates. D.W. and M.M. sustained bodily injury as a result.
The indictment further alleges that on January 31, 2018, Ware, while acting in his official capacity as a supervisory corrections officer of the KCDC, violated the constitutional rights of a pretrial detainee, identified in the indictment only as C.D., by ordering KCDC corrections officers to apply restraints to C.D. in an unreasonable manner. C.D. sustained bodily injury as a result.
If convicted, Ware faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $ 250,000 on each count.
The case was investigated by the Oklahoma City FBI Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Barry of the Western District of Oklahoma and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Former Football Coach Facing Federal Charges for Production of Child Pornography Involving Two Minor VictimsRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Moshe Michael Imel, age 51, of Owings, Maryland, with five counts of production of child pornography involving two minor victims. The indictment was returned yesterday. Imel will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt at a later date. Imel remains detained on separate State charges.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans; and Calvert County State’s Attorney Robert Harvey.
According to the five-count indictment, during two months in 2018, Imel persuaded, enticed and coerced Victim A to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce images documenting the sexually explicit conduct. Similarly, the indictment alleges that on three occasions during one month in 2020, Imel enticed and coerced Victim B to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce images documenting the sexually explicit conduct of Victim B.
Law enforcement believes there may be other victims. Please report suspected sexual abuse to HSI's tip line at 866-DHS-2ICE (1-866-347-2423) or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
If convicted, Imel faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each of the five counts of production of child pornography. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the HSI, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, and the Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph R. Baldwin and Kristi N. O’Malley, who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Wire Fraud in Relation to a Religious Institution Check Theft ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Mateus Vaduva, age 29, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on November 17, 2021 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to steal from the mail donation checks intended for religious institutions.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel A. Adame of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG); Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Toni Dezomits of the Cary, North Carolina, Police Department; and Sheriff Dusty Rhoades of the Williamson County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office.
According to his guilty plea, beginning in June 2018 to January 2021, Vaduva and his co-conspirators conspired to steal checks from the U.S. mail intended for religious institutions and deposit the illegally obtained funds into multiple fraudulent bank accounts at various victim financial institutions. Conspirators, including Vaduva, conducted the thefts by driving to roadside mailboxes of churches and other religious institutions and removing the mail, specifically targeting donation checks.
As part of the scheme to defraud, Vaduva and other co-conspirators fraudulently opened bank accounts at victim financial institutions under false identities. Conspiracy members often opened fictitious bank accounts with the aid of a conspiracy member that was an employee at one of the victim financial institutions. In addition, Vaduva and his co-conspirators used at least two extended family members who were minors to assist in the account openings.
Vaduva and co-conspirators then withdrew cash from the fraudulent bank accounts through ATMs and spent the illegally obtained proceeds using debit cards associated with the bank accounts.
Throughout the scheme to defraud, Vaduva personally deposited at least approximately 126 stolen checks totaling at least approximately $79,551.07. In total, co-conspirators deposited at least 3,067 stolen checks from Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and elsewhere, totaling in approximately $1,307,484.23.
As stated in his plea agreement, Vaduva and his co-conspirators will be required to pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which is at least $1,307,484.23.
Vaduva faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for February 18, 2022 at 2 p.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HSI, the FDIC Office of Inspector General, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Cary (North Carolina) Police Department, and the Williamson County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Wright, who is prosecuting the case.
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Florida Counseling Center Owner and Provider Sentenced to Federal Prison for Medicaid Fraud, Conspiracy, False Statements, and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Jason R. Coody, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the sentencings of Stephanie Lynn Fleming, 43, and Helen Elizabeth Storey, 39, both of Waldorf, Maryland, and both formerly of Tallahassee, Florida. Fleming was sentenced to a total of three years and one day in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Storey was sentenced to a total of two years and one day in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Both defendants were ordered to pay $219,000 in restitution to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA).
Fleming’s and Storey’s sentences were the result of a 3-day federal bench trial resulting in guilty verdicts for most counts on April 6, 2021. Both defendants were found guilty of health care fraud conspiracy, health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Fleming was also found guilty of making false statements in connection with health care matters.
“The sentences demonstrates that the United States Attorney’s Office is committed to aggressively and diligently prosecuting those who commit healthcare fraud,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Coody. “The concerted and cooperative effort of our federal and state law enforcement partners were critical to bringing these defendants to justice. We will continue to work toward our common goals of protecting our community members and preserving the integrity of our federally-funded healthcare programs.”
Storey owned and operated North Florida Mental Health (NFMH), a Tallahassee-based counseling center, and employed Fleming as a licensed mental health counselor. Evidence presented in court proved that between April 15, 2016 and December 31, 2017, Storey and Fleming improperly obtained, or attempted to obtain, more than $250,000 from Florida Medicaid by submitting fraudulent claims through NFMH.
“Convicted criminals Storey and Fleming fraudulently billed the Medicaid program, ignoring an exclusion from all federal health care programs while committing identity theft to boost their profits. They stole from this taxpayer-funded safety net program that is designed to provide health services to vulnerable patients,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar. “These convictions should send a warning to others tempted to loot from federal health care programs: our agents will investigate such bad actors and hold them accountable.”
Fleming, who provided psychotherapy, psychiatric diagnostic evaluations, and therapeutic behavioral services to patients of NFMH, agreed to a five-year debarment from participating in any state Medicaid program as a result of a 2016 felony conviction involving Medicaid fraud in the state of New Jersey. Evidence presented in court proved that Fleming falsely claimed on an application to become a Florida Medicaid provider that she had not been convicted of, or pled guilty or no contest to, a felony. Additional evidence demonstrated that Storey knew of Fleming’s conviction and debarment, and that Fleming was therefore ineligible to participate as a Florida Medicaid provider.
At trial, evidence showed that Fleming caused to be submitted – and that Storey submitted – multiple fraudulent Medicare claims by means of aggravated identity theft. In doing so, some of the false Medicare claims reflected that another eligible and licensed NFMH therapist performed services that, in reality, were provided by Fleming during the period of time that she was under debarment from participation in any state Medicaid program. The court heard evidence of additional instances in which the names and personal identification information of NFMH patients, many of whom were children, were used to submit fictitious Medicare claims for services that were not performed at all.
Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen prosecuted the case, which was jointly investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General and the Florida Attorney General Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html
Florida Corporation and Executives Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Sell Anabolic Steroids and Unlawful Dietary SupplementsRead the Press Release
Blackstone Labs LLC (“Blackstone”) and two of its executives pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell illegal anabolic steroids and other unlawful products marketed as dietary supplements, the Justice Department announced.
According to court documents, Phillip “PJ” Braun, 40, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Aaron Singerman, 41, of Delray Beach, Florida, founded and operated Blackstone, a Boca Raton-based sports and dietary supplements retailer. Braun is Blackstone’s CEO and former President, and Singerman is the former CEO of Blackstone.
On Nov. 17, Braun and Singerman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(E), and 846, and to selling unapproved new drugs, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 331(d), 355(a), and 333(a)(2). On Nov. 19, Blackstone Labs pleaded guilty to the same charges as Braun and Singerman, as well as to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
In pleading guilty, Braun and Singerman admitted to leading a conspiracy to sell products through Blackstone that were labeled as dietary supplements but were actually controlled substances or drugs that were not approved by the FDA. Blackstone made the same admissions, and also admitted to having defrauded the FDA and consumers by selling illegal substances falsely labeled as dietary supplements.
The defendants specifically admitted that, from 2012 through 2017, they conspired to sell products that were unapproved new drugs and/or illegal controlled substances under the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act. The defendants admitted that they falsely characterized their products as safe and legal dietary supplements. In addition, they falsely represented that the products were made in “FDA approved” registered facilities that followed all required regulations, when in fact they were not. The defendants also admitted to controlling a supplement manufacturer that fraudulently imported raw ingredients for their products from China. Braun and Singerman both admitted to selling many other products in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, including synthetic stimulants DMAA and DMBA, and the “nootropic” chemical picamilon. The defendants ignored injury complaints from consumers and did not notify the FDA of complaints, even when required by law. As part of their plea agreements, the defendants also agreed to forfeit all proceeds of these crimes, with Braun forfeiting $3 million, Singerman forfeiting $2.9 million and Blackstone forfeiting $1 million.
“Dietary supplements are regulated to protect the health of American consumers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will prosecute individuals and corporations who sell dangerous products while misrepresenting that they are safe and legal dietary supplements.”
“Consumers who use dietary supplements expect those products to be safe," said Assistant Commissioner Catherine A. Hermsen for FDA Criminal Investigations. "Products mislabeled as dietary supplements can pose a serious risk to the health of U.S. consumers. We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who jeopardize the public health.”
Braun and Singerman are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2022, in Ft. Lauderdale before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas of the Southern District of Florida. Both face a maximum penalty of 13 years in prison. Judge Dimitrouleas will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Blackstone is also scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2022.
Four other defendants previously charged by indictment in connection with a conspiracy to defraud the FDA, the distribution of unapproved new drugs, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances have pleaded guilty. One remaining defendant is set for trial on Nov. 23.
The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Alistair Reader and Steven Gripkey, Senior Litigation Counsel David Frank and Assistant Director John W. Burke of the Justice Department, Civil Division, Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the cases, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove for the Southern District of Florida.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Federal Jury Convicts Wyandotte Man for Methamphetamine Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a Wyandotte man Thursday for his role in a methamphetamine drug conspiracy, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Adam Douglas Sherwood, 43, was found guilty of drug conspiracy, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and three counts of unlawful use of a communication facility. Sherwood is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan.
“A jury held Adam Sherwood accountable for conspiring to distribute and distributing methamphetamine,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Illicit drug operations too often result in violence and further economic depression in struggling neighborhoods. Thankfully, multi-agency law enforcement teams are working together, as they did in this case, to dismantle drug operations that endanger communities in northeastern Oklahoma.”
The jury found that Sherwood took part in the drug conspiracy from January 2018 through January 2021. He and his conspirators distributed and possessed with intent to distribute between 50 and 500 grams of methamphetamine. On May 23, 2020, Sherwood and coconspirator Kenneth Rosenburg aided and abetted one another to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Finally, from May 13, 2020, to May 23, 2020, Sherwood also used his cellphone on three different occasions to conduct drug deals.
Sherwood, Rosenberg, and others supplied methamphetamine to buyers in Northeast Oklahoma in exchange for payment.
In the early morning hours of May 23, 2020, Tulsa Police officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that matched a description of a suspect vehicle involved in a shots-fired call earlier the same evening. Adam Sherwood, driver Kenneth Rosenberg, and a third individual were in the vehicle. Officers noted Sherwood with a can of beer when they approached the vehicle and a gun holster located on the center console of the car.
Officers then conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and located a Lorcin Engineering Company, Inc. .380 ACP caliber single-action pistol and a Sturm, Ruger & Co. 22 WMR caliber double-action revolver under the center console of the vehicle. They also found a green zippered pouch containing multiple empty baggies, one baggie containing methamphetamine residue, a digital scale, and containers often used to store drugs. Officers searched Sherwood and located a clear plastic baggie containing a clear, brownish crystalline substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. Officers also located $226 in cash on Sherwood and approximately $1,300 on Rosenberg. Both were taken in to custody.
On Oct. 25, 2021, coconspirator Rosenberg was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The Tulsa Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Miami Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin G. Bish and Thomas E. Duncombe are prosecuting the case.
Federal Inmate Sentenced to 51 Months’ Imprisonment for Assault with A Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that David Brian Olson, age 42, originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, was sentenced on November 5, 2021, to 51 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann for assault with a dangerous weapon.
According to U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus, on May 20, 2020, while Olson was an inmate at the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood, White Deer, Pennsylvania, he attacked a fellow inmate by hitting the inmate on the head with a metal object tied inside a sock. The victim needed three staples to close the laceration on his head.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew O. Inman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case.
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Federal Inmate Sentenced to 12 Months’ Imprisonment for Smuggling Suboxone into PrisonRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Tyrone Wayne Meachem, age 40, was sentenced on November 17, 2021, to 12 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann for possessing buprenorphine in prison.
According to U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus, in April 2018, Meachem was an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood (FCI Allenwood), in White Deer, Pennsylvania. On April 7, 2018, Jessika Ann Sanders visited Meachem at FCI Allenwood and gave him a sandwich with three balloons that held 68 Suboxone strips that contained buprenorphine, a controlled substance. Meachem admitted to police investigators that the balloons were hidden in his sandwich. Meachem had agreed to smuggle in the Suboxone to pay off a debt to another inmate.
Jessika Ann Sanders was charged on December 12, 2019, with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, distribution of a controlled substance, and providing contraband in prison. Sanders is currently awaiting trial.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew O. Inman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case.
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Federal Court Enjoins Maryland Physician Assistant from Prescribing Opioids and Other Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
A federal court in Maryland permanently enjoined a Baltimore-based physician assistant from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances, the Department of Justice announced today.
Pursuant to an agreed consent judgment filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman enjoined Elizabeth J. Allen from dispensing, prescribing or administering any controlled substances. The consent decree resolves a civil complaint filed by the government alleging that Allen, while working at a Maryland pain clinic, repeatedly prescribed opioids in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The government alleged that from 2014 to 2019, Allen issued hundreds of prescriptions that had no legitimate medical purpose and fell outside the usual course of professional medical practice. The injunction requires that Allen never again apply for or seek the reinstatement of her DEA registration, which is required for a medical professional to prescribe controlled substances.
“Anyone who prescribes opioids and other controlled substances must comply with professional standards and the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to ensure that medical providers abide by the Controlled Substances Act.”
“Physician assistants and nurse practitioners are subject to the Controlled Substances Act and cannot overprescribe opioids and hide behind their affiliations with physicians in an attempt to shield themselves from criminal and civil liability,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “The court’s approval of this consent decree should remind all medical practitioners that the U.S. Attorney’s Office intends to use all the tools at its disposal—both criminal and civil—to combat the opioid epidemic which continues to plague our State. We will hold responsible all medical professionals who contribute to Maryland’s opioid epidemic by overprescribing opioids, regardless of their title or the letters that follow their name.”
“The DEA continues to hold prescribers and all medical professionals accountable when they violate the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Jarod A. Forget of the DEA Washington Division. “Overprescribing controlled substance pharmaceuticals remains a key threat and can lead to overdoses. We will continue to investigate these prescribers in order to save lives.”
The government’s complaint alleged that Allen repeatedly prescribed dangerous and potentially lethal combinations of opioids and benzodiazepines. The complaint also alleged that Allen continued to prescribe patients opioids even after some tested positive for illicit or unprescribed substances in urine toxicology screens. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention generally recommends that primary care clinicians avoid daily dosages of opioids over 90 morphine milligram equivalents (MME), the government alleged that Allen wrote prescriptions that could cause some patients to exceed 700 MME daily. The government alleged that prescriptions written by Allen were a contributing factor in the death of at least one Marylander. Allen denied the government’s allegations.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, Washington Division, Baltimore District Office.
The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan C. Lazerow and Trial Attorneys Donald Lorenzen and Thomas Rosso of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch.
Federal Consent Decree Permanently Bans Baltimore-Based Physician Assistant from Prescribing Opioids and Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman has approved a consent decree that permanently enjoins Elizabeth J. Allen, a Baltimore-based physician assistant, from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances, resolving the United States’ civil allegations that Allen violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in illegally prescribing opioids. Under the consent decree, Allen agrees to never apply for or seek the reinstatement of her DEA registration—which is required for a medical professional to prescribe controlled substances, and which lapsed in 2020.
The approval of the consent decree was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division; and Special Agent in Charge Jarod A. Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division.
“Physician assistants and nurse practitioners are subject to the Controlled Substances Act and cannot overprescribe opioids and hide behind their affiliations with physicians in an attempt to shield themselves from criminal and civil liability,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “The Court’s approval of this consent decree should remind all medical practitioners that the U.S. Attorney’s Office intends to use all the tools at its disposal—both criminal and civil—to combat the opioid epidemic which continues to plague our State. We will hold responsible all medical professionals who contribute to Maryland’s opioid epidemic by overprescribing opioids, regardless of their title or the letters that follow their name.”
“Anyone who prescribes opioids and other controlled substances must comply with professional standards and the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to ensure that medical providers abide by the Controlled Substances Act.”
“The DEA continues to hold prescribers and all medical professionals accountable when they violate the law,” stated Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division. “Overprescribing controlled substance pharmaceuticals remains a key threat and can lead to overdoses. We will continue to investigate these prescribers in order to save lives.”
The government alleged that from 2014 to 2019, Allen, who practiced medicine as a physician assistant at the Centers for Rehabilitation, Pain Management, and Wellness in Pikesville, Maryland, issued hundreds of prescriptions that had no legitimate medical purpose and fell outside the usual course of professional medical practice.
More specifically, the government’s complaint alleged that Allen repeatedly prescribed dangerous and potentially lethal combinations of opioids and benzodiazepines. The complaint also alleged that Allen continued to prescribe patients opioids even after some tested positive for illicit or unprescribed substances in urine toxicology screens. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention generally recommends that primary care clinicians avoid daily dosages of opioids over 90 morphine milligram equivalents (MME), the government alleged that Allen wrote prescriptions that could cause some patients to exceed 700 MME daily. The government alleged that prescriptions written by Allen were a contributing factor in the death of at least one Marylander. Allen denied the government’s allegations.
U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron and Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton commended the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, Washington Division, Baltimore District Office for its work in the investigation. U.S. Attorney Barron and Acting Assistant Attorney General Boynton also thanked Assistant United States Attorney Alan C. Lazerow and Trial Attorneys Donald Lorenzen and Thomas S. Rosso of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, who handled the case.
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Federal Charges Filed following Record-breaking Seizure of Fentanyl and MethRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – November 19, 2021
SAN DIEGO – Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman announced federal drug charges today against Carlos Martin Quintana-Arias of Mexico, following the seizure yesterday of 17,584 pounds of methamphetamine and 388.93 pounds of fentanyl from a commercial trailer attempting entry at the Otay Mesa, California, Commercial Port of Entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed that both drug seizures would be the largest in each drug category, for both this year and last year, in the entire United States.
The Complaint alleges that on November 18, 2021, at approximately 8:18 p.m., Quintana-Arias, a Mexican citizen, applied for entry into the U.S. as the driver and sole occupant of a 2009 Kenworth Tractor pulling a 1996 Stoug trailer. Quintana-Arias’ manifest reflected the trailer contained automotive body parts. However, according to the Complaint, an X-Ray machine detected anomalies inside the trailer and a drug detection dog alerted to the rear door of the trailer.
Further inspection of the trailer’s contents revealed a few automotive body parts among 6,266 packages of drugs. Of the total drug packages, 6,106 packages contained a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine; these packages together weighed approximately 7,976.2 kilograms (17,584.33 pounds). The other 160 packages contained a substance that field-tested positive for fentanyl and weighed approximately176.42 kilograms (388.93 pounds).
“This is a staggering seizure that demonstrates the extent of our current fight against mass production of methamphetamine and fentanyl. But for the vigilance of our law enforcement partners, this record-breaking deluge of drugs would have caused incredible damage in our communities.” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We commend our partner agencies for their tireless work and dedication to preventing these dangerous and deadly drugs from entering our country.”
“This record-breaking commercial seizure exemplifies the joint efforts of CBP and HSI employees, who work tirelessly each day to protect our Ports of Entry from the threats posed by drug cartels and other transnational criminal organizations,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “Countless lives will be saved because of this historic seizure of methamphetamine and fentanyl, but make no mistake: drug cartels strive to exploit our borders to further their criminal enterprises every day. The HSI Border Enforcement Security Task Force and the San Diego Imperial Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, in collaboration with CBP, remain vigilant in the mission to disrupt and dismantle every level of the cartels.”
“Customs and Border Protection is extremely fortunate to have CBP officers with phenomenal skills that enabled them to identify anomalies, leading to use of our technology to confirm and intercept the largest Methamphetamine and Fentanyl seizure nationally within the last two years” said Pete Flores, Director of Field Operations for the San Field Office. “Our vigilance is critical to our mission and we will continue to make our homeland and communities safer by making sure these dangerous drugs are intercepted.”
Quintana-Arias was arraigned today on the complaint alleging two violations of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 952, and 960. A detention hearing is scheduled for November 23, 2021 at 2:15 p.m.
DEFENDANT Case Number 21-mj-4574-AHG
Carlos Martin Quintana-Arias Residence: Mexico
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 952 and 960
Importation of a Controlled Substance
Maximum penalty: Life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison; and $10,000,000 fine
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Eight More Merchant Mariners Charged in Test-Score Fixing SchemeRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S Attorney Duane A. Evans announced the indictment on November 18, 2021 of the following eight current and former merchant mariners related to a test score-fixing scheme at a United States Coast Guard exam center: RANSFORD ACKAH, NATHANIEL DOMINICK, ODELL GRIGGS, DEVIN HEBERT, RAYNEL LEWIS, ADRIAN MACK, MAURICE PALMER, and DERRICK WARD.
The defendants are each charged with obtaining, and intending to use, officer-level licenses that were procured through falsified exam scores. The fraudulent scores were for examinations designed to test the mariners’ knowledge and training to safely operate under the authority of those licenses.
The allegations stem from an investigation that resulted in a previous indictment charging former Coast Guard credentialing specialist Dorothy Smith with accepting bribes in exchange for entering false passing examination scores. Twenty-eight current and former mariners were charged in that earlier indictment and have all pled guilty. Smith and two other former-Coast Guard employees are awaiting trial in that case.
If convicted, each defendant in this indictment faces a sentence of up to five (5) years’ imprisonment, up to a $250,000.00 fine, up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee.
U.S Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the defendants’ guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being investigated by the Coast Guard Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chandra Menon is in charge of the prosecution.
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Easton Man Facing Federal Indictment for Possession and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Tyler Dean Fowler, age 29, of Easton, Maryland, with receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. The indictment was returned on November 10, 2021. Fowler was arrested for these charges on November 18, 2021 in North Carolina.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police and Chief David A. Spencer of the Easton Police Department.
According to the four-count indictment, in October 2019 Fowler knowingly received several images of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity including an image of a minor male’s genitalia.
The indictment also alleges that Fowler’s cell phone and laptop contained one or more visual depictions of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
If convicted, Fowler faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years for receipt of child pornography; and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. At today’s initial appearance in U.S. District Court in in the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler ordered that Fowler be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Maryland State Police Department, the Easton Police Department, and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office of North Carolina for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abigail E. Ticse and Paul E. Budlow, who are prosecuting the federal case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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East Peoria Ice Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced to Fifteen Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. –Joshua A. Ward, 35, of East Peoria, Illinois, was sentenced on November 18, 2021, to 15 years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Ward, who pleaded guilty on March 25, 2021, admitted that he possessed and sold methamphetamine to others on several occasions from July to September 2020. Ward was also found with ice methamphetamine packaged for resale and digital scales at the time of his arrest in September 2020. Evidence presented in court at sentencing showed that Ward’s methamphetamine was the highly pure methamphetamine, commonly referred to as “ice” methamphetamine.
During sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge James E. Shadid noted that Ward had a poor upbringing but that his criminal history placed Ward in the position he was in.
“Our ongoing focus to disrupt and deter ice methamphetamine dealers is working,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Douglas J. Quivey. “This case is an excellent example of how the Drug Enforcement Administration can enhance the efforts of our state and local departments to target those at the top.”
Ward has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest in September 2020. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Pekin Police Department investigated this case, with assistance of the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police’s West Central Illinois Task Force and Peoria Multi-County Enforcement Group. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Legge represented the government in the prosecution.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)’s National Methamphetamine Strategic Initiative, spearheaded locally out of the Pekin Police Department. The primary goal of this initiative is to address methamphetamine trafficking and its attendant consequences by using a coordinated, multi-agency approach targeting the highest levels of drug trafficking leadership. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Drug User Who Illegally Possessed Guns Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
An unlawful drug user who possessed multiple firearms was sentenced on November 19, 2021, to more than four years in federal prison.
Joel Perea-Duenas, age 20, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after an April 16, 2021, guilty plea to two counts of being a drug user in possession of a firearm and ammunition. At the time Perea-Duenas possessed the guns and ammunition, he knew he was an unlawful user of cocaine and marijuana.
Evidence at Perea-Duenas’s, detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed that on June 23, 2020, Perea-Duenas was asked to serve as the getaway driver for a shooting. He agreed, put on dark clothing, and joined three armed men in a waiting car. The attackers drove to the home of their intended victim, but seeing law enforcement in the area, aborted their attack. Later, at a secondary target, one of men repeatedly fired upon a Sioux City, Iowa home. Perea-Duenas admitted he knew about the intended shooting before agreeing to drive. He also admitted knowing there were people, including children, in the targeted home. Perea-Duenas wanted the shooting to occur to in retaliation against a resident of the home and his family.
Perea-Duenas was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Perea-Duenas was sentenced to 54 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $38,863.42 in restitution to the victims and an insurance company. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Perea-Duenas is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-4071.
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Drug User Sentenced to over Two Years in Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a GunRead the Press Release
A South Sioux City, Nebraska, man who illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced November 18, 2021, to more than two years in federal prison.
Joseph Haack, 23, from South Sioux City, Nebraska, received the prison term after a July 12, 2021, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a drug user.
Evidence presented by the United States at the detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed Haack was twice disarmed by Sioux City Police. On November 2, 2020, during a traffic stop, Haack was discovered in possession of a stolen rifle with an obliterated serial number. On November 2, 2020, he was discovered shoplifting while armed with a loaded handgun which was also stolen and had an obliterated serial number. During this time Haack was an unlawful user of methamphetamine and marijuana.
Haack was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Haack was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Justice – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4006.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Dominican National Sentenced for Social Security Misuse and Making a False StatementRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national previously residing in Taunton was sentenced today for false representation of a Social Security number and making a false statement relating to health care matters.
Reynold Pereyra Diaz, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to one year in prison and one year of supervised release. Pereyra Diaz will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. On July 29, 2021, Pereyra Diaz pleaded guilty to one count of false representation of a Social Security number and one count of making a false statement relating to a federal health care program.
For at least 18 years, Pereyra Diaz used the name and identifiers of a U.S. citizen, including to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license and to apply for MassHealth benefits. In December 2018, a search of Pereyra Diaz’s residence recovered a marriage license under his true name as well as a driver’s license, birth certificate, Social Security card and bank cards under the victim’s stolen identity.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security’s Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized field investigative group comprised of personnel from various local, state, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and the Lynn, Lawrence and Taunton Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Saltzman of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Dalton Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dalton man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for sexual exploitation offenses.
James LaFrance, 65, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 16 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release. On July 9, 2021, LaFrance pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of children.
On two separate occasions in 2018 and 2019, LaFrance encouraged a 16-year-old girl from Massachusetts, whom he had befriended on the internet, to engage in sexually explicit conduct during video chat sessions. LaFrance recorded the girl’s actions on his computer and provided specific directions as to what she was to do on camera. LaFrance engaged in virtually identical behavior toward a 16-year-old girl from Pennsylvania on two occasions in July 2019.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Dalton Police Chief Deanna Strout; Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King; and Newbury Police Chief John R. Lucey, Jr. made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Mendell’s Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
DOJ announces $139 million for community policing hiringRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – The Department of Justice announced the Cincinnati Police Department will receive more than $6 million in grant funding for law enforcement hiring to advance community policing. Cincinnati is one of two agencies in the Southern District of Ohio to receive the grant funding.
More than $139 million was awarded through the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). The awards provide direct funding to 183 law enforcement agencies across the nation, allowing those agencies to hire 1,066 additional full-time law enforcement professionals.
Cincinnati Police Department was awarded $6.25 million to hire an additional 50 officers and the Whitehall Police Department is receiving $750,000 to hire six more officers.
The COPS Hiring Program is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing. Funding for the 183 agencies awarded grants this week will be used to focus on building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities; seek to address high rates of gun violence and other areas of violence; and combat hate and domestic terrorism.
To learn more about CHP, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
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D.C. Woman Indicted for Scheme to Steal More Than $400,000 in Government Benefit FundsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A District of Columbia woman has been charged in a 35-count indictment with carrying out a scheme to steal more than $400,000 in government benefit funds provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) for the care and benefit of government beneficiaries.
Rosemary Ogbenna, 45, was arrested yesterday, following her indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The indictment was unsealed yesterday. She was released following her initial court appearance and is to be arraigned on Nov. 30, 2021.
The indictment was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves; Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration (SSA); Kim Lampkins, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Mid-Atlantic Field Office, and Christy Goldsmith Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
According to the indictment, Ogbenna perpetrated a scheme in which she obtained and used SSA and VA benefit funds – which were intended for the care of elderly, mentally ill, disabled, and veteran beneficiaries – for her own personal use and benefit. The indictment alleges that Ogbenna stole more than $400,000 in government benefits funds intended for the benefit of others who had been tenants of her rooming house business.
The Social Security Administration administers benefit programs under federal law, including the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (“OASDI”) program, which provides monthly benefit funds to qualified retired and disabled workers and their dependents and to survivors of insured workers. Eligibility and benefit amounts under this program are determined by a worker’s contributions to Social Security. Under another program, qualifying individuals Disabled (“SSI”) and related programs.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs serves the needs of American veterans, including providing monthly government benefit funds through its Veterans Benefits Administration.
As alleged in the indictment, Ogbenna carried out a scheme from at least March 19, 2009 through on or about Feb. 23, 2020, in which she obtained and maintained control over SSA benefit funds for some tenants of her rooming house business by becoming the Representative Payee of their SSA benefit funds. Although a Representative Payee has a duty to use SSA benefits solely on behalf of the beneficiary, the indictment alleges that Ogbenna used a portion of those funds for her own personal use and benefit.
In addition, the indictment alleges that Ogbenna also gained control over tenants’ monthly VA benefits and used a portion of those VA benefit funds for her personal use and benefit without authority. The indictment further alleged that Ogbenna made false statements to agents investigating the fraud scheme and obstructed the investigation by providing altered documents.
Ogbenna is charged with 35 counts overall, including 12 counts of mail fraud, 16 counts of wire fraud, one count of theft of government property, two counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of Representative Payee fraud, one count of making a false statement, one count of tampering with documents, and one count of first-degree theft. If convicted, Ogbenna faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of mail fraud, wire fraud or tampering with documents, ten years in prison for the counts of theft of government property or first-degree theft, two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft, to run consecutive to any sentence for wire fraud, and five years in prison for the count of Representative Payee fraud.
The indictment includes a notification of the United States’ intent to seek the forfeiture of any proceeds Ogbenna received as a result of the fraud scheme and theft of government property. If convicted of any of the charges, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG), the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, is prosecuting the case, supported by Financial Analyst Bryan Snitselaar and Paralegal Specialists Chad Byron and Mariela Andrade.
Current and Former Ewing Township Police Officers Charged with Violating Civil Rights of a MinorRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – Three current and former Ewing Township Police Department officers were indicted by a grand jury on civil rights charges for their roles in assaulting a minor victim during the course of an arrest, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.
Michael Delahanty, 51, of Robbinsville, New Jersey, a retired Ewing Township Police lieutenant; and Matthew Przemieniecki, 43, of Hamilton, New Jersey, and Justin Ubry, 33, of Burlington, New Jersey, both current Ewing Township police officers, are charged in a two-count indictment with deprivation of rights under color of law. Delahanty and Przemieniecki are charged in Count One with a felony offense of deprivation of rights under color of law causing bodily injury, and Ubry is charged in Count Two with a misdemeanor offense of deprivation of rights under color of law. Delahanty, Przemieniecki, and Ubry surrendered this morning and are scheduled to appear by videoconference this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni.
According to the indictment:
At approximately 8:15 a.m., on Jan. 5, 2018, more than a dozen police officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in Ewing Township. Officers located the vehicle, which had crashed, and saw the driver of the vehicle running from the scene. Shortly thereafter, officers located the driver, a minor, in a detached shed on a residential property, removed the minor from the shed, and laid him face down on the snow-covered ground. While other officers handcuffed the victim, Delahanty used his boot to step on the back of the victim’s head, pressing his face into the snow. Przemieniecki kicked snow three times directly into the victim’s face, and Ubry also kicked snow directly into the victim’s face. Przemieniecki then used his boot to step on the victim’s head, again driving his face into the snow. The victim did not resist law enforcement at any time while on the ground. Under the circumstances, the force that defendants Delahanty, Przemieniecki, and Ubry applied to the victim was unreasonable and excessive and violated the victim’s constitutional right to be free from such force.
The felony civil rights charge against Delahanty and Przemieniecki carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The misdemeanor civil rights charge against Ubry carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Martha K. Nye of the Criminal Division in Trenton, and Senior Civil Rights Counsel R. Joseph Gribko of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office recently announced the Civil Rights Criminal Enforcement Initiative, a federal-state partnership that will enhance coordination in the investigation and prosecution of federal, state, and local cases involving civil rights violations by law enforcement officers and others acting under color of law. It combines resources from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, and the FBI in a cooperative approach to criminal civil rights enforcement. The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Convicted Child Molester and Pedophile Sentenced to 15 Years of ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
HAMMOND- Michael Christianson, 52, of LaPorte, Indiana, was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon upon his plea of guilty to three counts of transporting obscene materials, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Christianson was sentenced to 180 months (15 years) in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to documents in this case, between on or about June 22, 2019, and July 2, 2019, Christianson used a computer to submit three books that contained obscene content to a publisher in North Carolina. Specifically, the books Christianson had authored, contained photos of children’s genitals and children engaged in sexual activity.
Christianson authored the books while being a registered sex offender. He was previously convicted of child molestation in LaPorte County, Indiana in 2003, for sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy. In his pro se filings with this Court, Defendant proclaimed himself to be a “virtuous pedosexual”.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Kelley and former Northern District of Indiana Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster.
Columbus man sentenced to 22 years in prison for setting up fake online sales to lure victims, steal their money & shoot themRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man who pretended to be selling a car and pretended to be an online escort in order to rob victims at gunpoint was sentenced today in federal court to 264 months in prison.
Keith Jorel Hudson, 36, brandished a firearm during the robberies and shot and struck two victims.
According to court documents, on March 5, 2020, Hudson met up with a victim who had communicated with Hudson on Facebook Messenger regarding a post stating Hudson was selling a black Honda Accord. When the victim arrived at a meetup location on Spencer Court in Columbus, Hudson brandished a firearm and demanded the victim drop his wallet and keys.
The victim complied, and as Hudson reached to pick up the wallet, the victim grabbed his own keys and attempted to flee in his car. Hudson blocked the victim from entering his car, pistol whipped the victim, and shot him in the back of the neck. The round entered and exited the victim’s neck, leaving a flesh wound and shattering the victim’s car window.
The victim was able to flag down a Columbus police officer a short distance away and was transported to Grant Hospital.
On March 20, 2020, a second victim responded to an online advertisement of Hudson’s. This post was a dating advertisement on a personals webpage.
The second victim arrived at the Hickory Creek Apartments complex to meet a female and pay her for sexual activity. Instead, Hudson approached him and pointed a handgun at him, demanding cash from him.
The victim gave Hudson the $30 he had in his possession and began to leave. The victim attempted to take a picture of Hudson’s license plate when Hudson began shooting at the victim. The victim attempted to flee and Hudson pursued the victim in his vehicle. Hudson fired his gun again near the intersection of Schrock Road and Ambleside Drive and struck the victim in his hand. The gunfire also disabled the victim’s car.
Shortly thereafter, Hudson was located by Columbus Police officers and arrested.
Hudson is was charged in March 2020 and pleaded guilty in April 2021 to robbery and discharging a firearm during robbery.
Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland H. Herndon, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Prichard is representing the United States in this case.
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Colombian National Extradited from Costa Rica to Face Drug Charges in the United StatesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann announces the unsealing of a 2019 indictment charging Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros, a/k/a “Nostradamus,” (41, Colombia, South America) with conspiracy to distribute large amounts of cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States. If convicted on all counts, Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
According to court documents, beginning in approximately September of 2017, and continuing through 2019, Lubo-Barros organized a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine from Colombia to the United States, including Texas, California, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida.
In April 2018, an indictment was returned in the Middle District of Florida charging Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros, and his co-conspirator, Gerardo Gomez-Lubo, with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. In January 2021, Lubo-Barros, who was living under an assumed identity, was arrested in Costa Rica.
Gerardo Gomez-Lubo was extradited from Panama to the United States in March 2021.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Panama Express Strike Force, a standing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force comprised of agents and analysts from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division and Costa Rican authorities provided significant support with the defendant’s extradition. The U.S. Marshals Service also provided critical assistance by extraditing Lubo-Barros from Costa Rica to the Middle District of Florida.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
Clinton Man Sentenced to over Nine Years in Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Clinton man was sentenced yesterday to 110 months in federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
United States Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
Derrick Lewis a/k/a “Rat Boy,” 42, was sentenced to serve 110 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
According to court records, Lewis sold methamphetamine totaling over 400 grams in the Jackson metro area on four different occasions. The methamphetamine was later determined to be 99% pure by forensic analysis.
Lewis was originally indicted on November 4, 2020, and he entered a guilty plea on July 22, 2021.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Dave Fulcher.
Chicago Businessman Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges for Allegedly Swindling Customers and Investors Out of $350,000Read the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago businessman who claimed to earn substantial profits from buying and selling heavy industrial equipment has been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly swindling customers and investors out of at least $350,000.
BRIAN BLALOCK, 37, of Chicago, is charged in an indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with nine counts of wire fraud. Arraignment has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and William Hedrick, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago. Valuable assistance was provided by the Illinois Securities Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacqueline Stern, Brian Havey, and Matthew Getter.
According to the indictment, Blalock operated three Chicago-based businesses – PWC Holdings LLC, Brian Blalock LLC, and Parkwood Companies LLC – through which he purported to buy and sell trucks, trailers, road construction machines, oil field equipment, and generators. Blalock solicited and obtained money from individual victims by falsely representing that he could either directly sell equipment to them or use their funds to purchase and sell equipment to others and then share in the substantial profits, the charges allege.
In reality, Blalock did not intend to deliver any equipment to the victim buyers, nor did he intend to use their investment funds to purchase and sell equipment, the indictment states. Blalock instead used a substantial portion of the victims’ funds for his own personal benefit, including his rent payments, utility bills, meals at restaurants, and retail purchases, the charges allege.
As a result of the scheme, Blalock from 2018 to 2021 caused the victims to suffer at least $350,000 in losses, the indictment states.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man to pleaded guilty today to a federal drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, Rance McNeil, 46, sold an informant approximately two ounces of methamphetamine for $1,200 on March 11, 2021. The transaction took place at McNeil’s Charleston residence. An informant conducted additional controlled buys of methamphetamine from McNeil at his residence on March 1, 2021, April 8, 2021, and May 13, 2021. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at McNeil’s residence on May 18, 2021, resulting in the seizure of large quantities of suspected methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as U.S. currency.
McNeil pleaded guilty to distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine and he faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on February 17, 2022.
United States Attorney William S. Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Negar M. Kordestani is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00203.
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Canton Man Sentenced to over 6 Years in Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Canton man was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison for drug trafficking.
U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley with the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement.
Alton Terrell Monroe, 44, of Canton, pled guilty on July 30, 2021, to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
According to court records, in 2017, DEA agents conducted an extensive investigation into suspected drug traffickers in central Mississippi. The investigation led to the seizure of approximately $585,000 and 12 kilograms of cocaine.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson Police Department, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Internal Revenue Service.
This case was prosecuted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Assistant United States Attorneys Keesha Middleton and Chris Wansley prosecuted the case.
Bullhead City Man Convicted for Threatening to Kill Speaker of the House of RepresentativesRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Yesterday, Steven Arthur Martis, 77, of Bullhead City, Arizona, was found guilty by a jury of one count of communicating an interstate threat to kill or harm Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Martis is set to be sentenced on January 25, 2022.
On January 17, 2021, Martis called Speaker Pelosi’s Washington District Office from his residence in Bullhead City, Arizona, and left two voicemails. In his first voicemail, Martis threatened, “I’m coming to kill you . . . .” Martis followed up with a second voicemail, in which he advised, “You’re dead . . . .” Martis made these two calls after the Federal Bureau of Investigation had approached him and warned him about making similar calls in the past.
“This case is an important reminder that, although the First Amendment protects our right to free speech, which is one of our most precious individual rights, the United States Attorney’s Office takes threats to kill or harm another individual through a phone call or other form of interstate communication very seriously,” said Acting United States Attorney Glenn B. McCormick.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case, with assistance from the United States Capitol Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Kristen Brook and Joseph Koehler, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-2021-08043-PCT-DJH
RELEASE NUMBER: 2021-087_Martis# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Boston Man Sentenced for Illegal Possession of Loaded FirearmRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition. The defendant led police on a car chase before he was apprehended in Chelsea.
Raughn Williams, 23, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to four years in prison and three years of supervised release. On June 21, 2021, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
On Aug. 10, 2020, a state trooper attempted to pull over a vehicle driven by Williams on Storrow Drive in Boston for a tinted windows violation. Williams refused to pull over, and instead led police on a chase down Storrow Drive and onto the Tobin Bridge. Williams exited the Tobin Bridge into Chelsea, where he crashed the vehicle into two other cars and then fled on foot. Williams was apprehended and a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition was recovered. Federal law prohibits Williams from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to a prior felony conviction. Williams also possessed 10.1 grams of cocaine on his person at the time of his arrest.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes made the announcement today.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Agawam Man Sentenced for Federal Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Agawam man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for stealing two firearms and trading them for drugs.
David Poirier, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to three months in prison and three years of supervised release, with the first two months to be served in home confinement. In December 2020, Poirier pleaded guilty to one count of theft of a firearm from a licensed firearms dealer and one count of possession, sale or disposal of a stolen firearm.
Between June 18 and 23, 2020, Poirier stole a STI Edge 40 caliber pistol, a Glock 34 9 mm pistol, a Stag Arms Stag 15 lower frame and cash from a family member’s locked safe, and then traded them for drugs. The family member holds a Federal Firearms License (FFL) and owns a firearms business.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Office; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Agawam Police Chief Eric Gillis made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Mendell’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
18 November 2021
Yankton Man Charged with Receipt and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Yankton, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography.
Dylan James Steffen, age 29, was indicted on November 9, 2021. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on November 17, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, lifetime of supervised release, and up $200 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about between January 22, 2021, and January 24, 2021, and again on or about between March 17, 2021, and March 18, 2021, Steffen knowingly received and distributed, and attempted to receive and distribute, any child pornography that had been mailed, shipped, and transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer.
The charges are merely accusations and Steffen is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Yankton Police Department, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper is prosecuting the case.
Steffen was remanded to the custody of the State pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Wenatchee, Washington Man Sentenced to over 17 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Wenatchee, Washington Man Sentenced to Over 17 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Pornography Spokane – Today, Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Jose A. Mendoza, age 32, of Wenatchee, Washington, was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of production of child pornography on June 30, 2021. Senior United States District Judge Rosanna M. Peterson sentenced Mendoza to a 210-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison.
According to court documents, the Wenatchee Police Department executed a warrant to search Mendoza’s residence and seized numerous electronic devices that contained images of child pornography. Upon further review, Mendoza was found to have produced images of himself engaged in sexually exploitative conduct with female children.
United States Attorney Waldref said, “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, in collaboration with its federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners, uses every resource and tool available to investigate and prosecute aggressively those involved in child exploitation. This Office will continue to do all we can to protect vulnerable child victims of these horrible crimes.”
This case was pursued as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. The Project Safe Childhood Initiative (“PSC”) has five major components:
· Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue children;
· Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
· Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
· Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
· Community awareness and educational programs.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Wenatchee Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Michael J. Ellis, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
Wanblee Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Wanblee, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, and Obstruction of Justice, was sentenced on November 12, 2021, by District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Wicahpe “Chops” Milk, age 38, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Milk was indicted for all three charges by a federal grand jury in September 2016. He was found guilty at the close of a jury trial held June 28 – July 2, 2021.
Beginning in approximately January 2015, Milk obtained methamphetamine in California and transported it to South Dakota. He also recruited others to transport the methamphetamine. Milk sold the methamphetamine in western South Dakota and recruited at least 15 other people to do so for him. The communities where the methamphetamine was distributed included Rapid City, Wanblee, Pine Ridge, Kyle, Mission, Box Elder, Martin, and Allen. In August 2016, Milk was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Pennington County Sheriff’s Office deputies. Milk fled from the deputies and was arrested after a short foot pursuit. In the vehicle, Milk possessed a firearm and methamphetamine. Because of a prior felony conviction, Milk was prohibited from possessing any firearms. After his arrest, Milk repeatedly engaged in efforts to obstruct the case by writing letters to witnesses with content designed to affect their testimony, including threats, promises, and coercion.
This case was investigated by the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, which is comprised of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement, Martin Police Department, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
Milk was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Walla Walla Woman Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison After Fourth Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
Spokane – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Monica Linker, age 32, of Walla Walla, Washington, was sentenced on October 21, 2021, after pleading guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Linker to 5 years in federal custody, to be followed by a 10- year term of court supervision after she is released. Chief Judge Bastian calculated Linker’s sentencing range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines at more than 12 years – in part because this was Linker’s fourth child pornography offense – but exercised his discretion to depart downward to 5 years. Linker’s sentence is 8 years shorter than the 13-year sentence the United States recommended.
According to court documents, an FBI Special Agent went online in an undercover role to locate people in the community who were trading child pornography. The agent downloaded more than 80 videos of child pornography from Linker’s residence in Walla Walla, which led to a search warrant and the removal of all digital devices from her home. A forensic review confirmed significant child pornography evidence on her devices. Then, approximately ten months later, FBI executed a second search warrant at Linker’s new residence, recovering new images of child pornography from Linker’s new digital devices. In all, FBI recovered a significant amount of child pornography, as well as other indicia of Linker’s sexual interest in children and technical sophistication. This evidence included peer-to-peer, cleaning, encryption, and hacking software, and a Japanese Anime child pornography comic book. FBI also found evidence that Linker had burned images of child pornography onto disks. By the time FBI located Linker online, she had sustained three child pornography offenses under Washington law. In fact, she was on supervision with the Washington Department of Corrections when FBI downloaded child pornography from her. During prior probation searches of Linker’s residences, officers recovered 25 pairs of girls’ panties, anime books and videos, anime pornography, and a book on child gynecology.
United States Attorney Waldref condemned the exploitation of children:
“The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington works closely with our local and federal partners to apprehend the most serious child exploitation offenders in our community. I commend the Walla Walla Police Department and the FBI, whose excellent investigation in this case has protected children by keeping a recidivist offender off the streets for years. Sadly, there is an entire community of people who use the Internet to collect and trade crime-scene photos of children’s abuse for their own sexual gratification. Those images often travel around the Internet forever, ensuring that child pornography victims are never truly free. To those who use peer-to-peer networks to exploit children while seeking to evade detection by law enforcement, today’s sentence puts you on notice: undercover FBI agents are online at all hours of the day and night looking for child pornography offenders. We will continue to prosecute child exploitation as vigorously as the law allows. I encourage anyone who sees or suspects any form of child abuse to contact law enforcement immediately.”
Donald Voiret, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle Division, which encompasses the Spokane, Walla Walla, and Yakima areas, said “Ms. Linker is a repeat offender who has obviously not learned her lesson from her past convictions. Her compulsion to engage in this activity, even after being aware of law enforcement scrutiny, indicates the importance of keeping her away from the children in our communities.”
This case was pursued as part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. PSC has five major components:
ꞏ Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases,
and to identify and rescue children;
ꞏ Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
ꞏ Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
ꞏ Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
ꞏ Community awareness and educational programs.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Detective (Ret.) Tim Hollingsworth led the investigation by the Walla Walla Police Department and Special Agent (Ret.) Lee McEuen led the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. David M. Herzog, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, prosecuted the case.
United States Settles Clean Water Act Claims Against Fishing Companies, Manager and Vessel Chief Engineer for Violations in American SamoaRead the Press Release
San Diego-based JM Fisheries LLC, G.S. Fisheries Inc., the companies’ manager, and the chief engineer of the commercial fishing vessel Capt. Vincent Gann have agreed to pay a total of $725,000 in civil penalties to settle federal Clean Water Act claims related to oil pollution violations on the vessel. The companies and their manager have also agreed to perform corrective measures to prevent future Clean Water Act violations.
Working with the Coast Guard, the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii against JM Fisheries LLC, G.S. Fisheries Inc., James Sousa, and Edward DaCosta, along with a proposed consent decree resolving the allegations in the complaint against the companies and manager and a stipulated settlement agreement resolving the allegations against the chief engineer. The United States alleges in the complaint that, on April 20, 2018, the defendants discharged oil and oily mixtures from the fishing vessel Capt. Vincent Gann’s engine room bilge into Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, while performing repairs on the vessel. The Coast Guard responded to the discharge in the harbor and oversaw the cleanup efforts. The complaint further alleges a host of violations of pollution control regulations, including a failure to properly maintain and operate the vessel’s onboard oily water treatment system and a non-approved bypass modification to the system. JM Fisheries LLC subsequently reimbursed the Coast Guard for the cleanup work.
“The laws that these polluters violated protect vital marine resources for the good of the American people,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice commends the Coast Guard for the investigation that revealed these violations and allowed these polluters to be held accountable.”
“Being a steward to our environment is everyone’s responsibility,” said Captain Arex Avanni, Commander, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu and Captain of the Port of Coast Guard District 14. “We take any violation, no matter the size, extremely seriously and will use all resources available to prevent, investigate and hold violators responsible. With the assistance of partners and our maritime community, we can ensure our environment will be well protected.”
To resolve the claims in the complaint, the consent decree requires the companies and company manager James Sousa to perform corrective measures on all vessels they own or operate. These measures include:
(1) hiring an independent maritime consultant to conduct a top-to-bottom review of each vessel’s oil handling practices and operations,
(2) providing crewmembers with training on proper operation and maintenance of the oily water separator system and on the required recordkeeping associated with the system,
(3) documenting transfers of oil within and to each vessel, and
(4) submitting compliance reports to the Coast Guard and Department of Justice.
Additionally, the consent decree requires them to pay a joint civil penalty of $720,000. The stipulated settlement agreement requires the Capt. Vincent Gann’s chief engineer, Edward DaCosta, to pay a civil penalty of $5,000 to resolve the claims alleged against him in the complaint. This penalty amount is based on a demonstrated limited ability to pay a higher penalty.
Section 311(b) of the Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge oil or hazardous substances into or upon the waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines in quantities that may be harmful to the environment or public health. Under the Act, the Coast Guard also has promulgated spill prevention and pollution control regulations for vessels and other facilities. Overboard discharges of oily mixtures, whether by directly pumping out oily bilge water that has not been properly treated, or by attempting to pump only the portion of the oily bilge water beneath a floating oil layer in the bilge (so-called “decanting”), has long been unlawful under federal law. Eliminating oil discharges into the ocean helps protect people, birds, fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and other natural resources.
The penalty paid for this discharge and other violations will be deposited in the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund managed by the National Pollution Funds Center. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is used to pay for federal response activities and to compensate for damages when there is a discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil or hazardous substances to waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.
The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court review and approval. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Settles ADA Service Animal Dispute with Cedar Rapids Convenience StoreRead the Press Release
Midwest Petroleum & Convenience, Inc. (Midwest Petroleum), doing business as 7Star Liquor and Tobacco Outlet, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, convenience store, has agreed to settle a dispute under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding an allegation that it refused service to an individual with disabilities because of her service animal.
“People with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal are entitled to come and go freely in the community,” said Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry. “We are pleased that Midwest Petroleum has agreed to take steps to ensure that people who use service animals are welcomed and accepted.”
Under the settlement agreement, Midwest Petroleum agreed to adopt a service animal non-discrimination policy, provide relevant training to its employees regarding the ADA, post signage indicating service animals are welcome, and pay $1,000 in damages to the complainant.
As part of its investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office determined that, on December 26, 2020, the complainant entered 7Star Liquor and Tobacco Outlet with her service dog. A Midwest Petroleum employee told the complainant that dogs were not allowed within the store. Even after the complainant informed the employee that the animal was a service animal, the complainant was forced to leave.
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities by public accommodations, such as convenience stores. Among other things, public accommodations must allow people with disabilities the full and equal enjoyment of their goods, services, and facilities. They must make reasonable modifications of their policies, practices, and procedures to permit people with disabilities to be accompanied by service animals.
Individuals in the Northern District of Iowa that believe their civil rights may have been violated may submit their complaints by e-mailing the United States Attorney’s Office at [email protected] or by accessing https://civilrights.justice.gov/. For more information on the ADA, or to access publications available to assist entities in complying with the ADA, visit http://www.ada.gov or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).
The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Gillespie and the Disabilities Rights Section of the United States Department of Justice.
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U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces $5.5 Million for Law Enforcement Hiring to Advance Community PolicingRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio today announced that the Justice Department has awarded $5.5 million in grant funding through the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP) to four law enforcement agencies in the district. The awards provide direct funding to hire additional full-time law enforcement professionals.
Across the nation, the Justice Department announced that it has awarded more than $139 million in grant funding to 183 law enforcement agencies.
The following law enforcement agencies in the Northern District of Ohio received awards:
- Austintown Township, $250,000
- City of Canton, $1,000,000
- City of Cleveland, $3,750,000
- Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police Department, $500,000
CHP is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing. CHP provides funds directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new or rehire additional career law enforcement officers, thereby increasing their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Of the 183 agencies awarded grants today, approximately half will use the funding to focus on building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities; 41 agencies will seek to address high rates of gun violence; 21 will focus on other areas of violence; and 19 will focus CHP resources on combating hate and domestic extremism or supporting police-based responses to persons in crisis. The complete list of awards can be found here.
Since its creation in 1994, COPS has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 135,000 officers. CHP, COPS’ flagship program, continues to be in demand today: In FY21, COPS received 590 applications requesting nearly 3,000 law enforcement positions. For FY22, President Biden has requested $537 million for CHP, an increase of $300 million.
To learn more about CHP, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp-award. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served.
U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron Announces Award of $3 Million in Federal Funds to Advance Community Policing in MarylandRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron announced today that three cities in the District of Maryland have received grants totaling $3 million from the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). The Department of Justice announced more than $139 million in grant funding through the program. The grants will provide direct funding to 183 law enforcement agencies across the nation, allowing those agencies to hire 1,066 additional full-time law enforcement professionals, including 24 officers in Maryland.
“We are committed to providing police departments with the resources needed to help ensure community safety and build community trust,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The grants we are announcing today will enable law enforcement agencies across the country to hire more than 1,000 additional officers to support vitally important community oriented policing programs.”
“Our local law enforcement partners are facing unprecedented challenges. I am happy that these grants from the Department of Justice will assist them to hire the officers needed to keep our communities safer and advance community oriented policing in our local police departments,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron.
The following cities in Maryland received awards:
City of Cumberland received $375,000 to hire three officers; Town of Forest Heights received $500,000 to hire four officers; and
City of Seat Pleasant received $2,125,000 to hire 17 officers.CHP is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing. CHP provides funds directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new or rehire additional career law enforcement officers, thereby increasing their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Of the 183 agencies awarded grants today, approximately half will use the funding to focus on building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities; 41 agencies will seek to address high rates of gun violence; 21 will focus on other areas of violence; and 19 will focus CHP resources on combating hate and domestic extremism or supporting police-based response to persons in crisis. The complete list of awards can be found here.
Since its creation in 1994, COPS has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 135,000 officers. CHP, COPS’ flagship program, continues to be in demand today: In FY21, COPS received 590 applications requesting nearly 3,000 law enforcement positions. For FY22, President Biden has requested $537.0 million for CHP, an increase of $300 million.
To learn more about CHP, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp-award. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca Announces a $500,000 Grant Awarded to the City of Jackson Police Department for Additional Police OfficersRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca announced today that the City of Jackson Police Department (JPD) received an award totaling $504,310 from the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program.
Nationally, the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) awarded $139 million in new funding to 183 police departments across the nation, including $504,310 to JPD. The funding to JPD is to be used for the hiring of additional officers to fight violent crime in the City of Jackson.
“We are committed to providing police departments with the resources needed to help ensure community safety and build community trust,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The grants we are announcing today will enable law enforcement agencies across the country to hire more than 1,000 additional officers to support vitally important community oriented policing programs.”
“This award will help the City of Jackson and it’s police department meet the need for additional police officers,” said U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca. “The fight against violent crime in the City does not end here. It is the beginning.”
CHP is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing. CHP provides funds directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new or rehire additional career law enforcement officers, thereby increasing their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Of the 183 agencies awarded grants today, approximately half will use the funding to focus on building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities; 41 agencies will seek to address high rates of gun violence; 21 will focus on other areas of violence; and 19 will focus CHP resources on combating hate and domestic extremism or supporting police-based responses to persons in crisis. The complete list of awards can be found here.
Since its creation in 1994, COPS has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 135,000 officers. CHP, COPS’ flagship program, continues to be in demand today: In FY21, COPS received 590 applications requesting nearly 3,000 law enforcement positions. For FY22, President Biden has requested $537 million for CHP, an increase of $300 million.
To learn more about CHP, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp-award. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served.
U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Two Iranian Nationals for Cyber-Enabled Disinformation and Threat Campaign Designed to Interfere with the 2020 U.S. Presidential ElectionRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Bryan Vorndran, the Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Division (“FBI”), and Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging Iranian citizens and residents Seyyed Mohammad Hosein and MUSA KAZEMI (سید محمد حسین موسی کاظمی), a/k/a “Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazem,” a/k/a “Hosein Zamani,” and SAJJAD KASHIAN (سجاد کاشیان), a/k/a “Kiarash Nabavi,”for their involvement in a cyber-enabled campaign to intimidate and influence American voters, and otherwise undermine voter confidence and sow discord, in connection with the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. As part of this campaign, the conspirators obtained confidential United States voter information from at least one state election website, sent threatening email messages to intimidate voters, created and disseminated a video containing disinformation pertaining to purported but non-existent voting vulnerabilities, attempted to access, without authorization, several states’ voting-related websites, and successfully gained unauthorized access to a U.S. media company’s computer network that, if not for successful FBI and victim company efforts to mitigate, would have provided the conspirators another vehicle for further disseminating false claims after the election. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Kazemi and Kashian were part of a coordinated conspiracy in which Iranian hackers sought to undermine faith and confidence in the U.S. Presidential elections. Working with others, Kazemi and Kashian accessed voter information from at least one state’s voter database, threatened U.S. voters via email, and even disseminated a fictitious video that purported to depict actors fabricating overseas ballots. The United States will never tolerate any foreign actors’ attempts to undermine our free and democratic elections. As a result of the charges unsealed today, and the concurrent efforts of our U.S. government partners, Kazemi and Kashian will forever look over their shoulders as we strive to bring them to justice.”
Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division Bryan Vorndran.said: “The FBI remains committed to countering malicious cyber activity targeting our democratic process. Working rapidly with our private sector and U.S. government partners and ahead of the election, we were able to disrupt and mitigate this malicious activity – and then to enable today’s joint, sequenced operations against the adversary. Today’s announcement shows what we can accomplish as a community and a country when we work together, and the FBI will continue to do its part to keep our democracy safe.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen said: “The Department is committed to using all tools at its disposal, including criminal charges, to expose and disrupt malign foreign influence efforts and bring the responsible actors to justice. The indictment reveals that Iranian actors sought to sow discord by targeting Republicans with messages claiming voter fraud, and Democrats with ‘false flag’ threats from the Proud Boys. Its detailed allegations provide unadulterated facts that will help further inoculate the U.S. public, regardless of political affiliation, from future tailored and targeted disinformation campaigns.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
The 2020 Election Interference Campaign
Starting in approximately August 2020, and proceeding until November 2020, KAZEMI, KASHIAN, and other co-conspirators began a coordinated, four-stage campaign to undermine faith and confidence in the 2020 Presidential Election (the “Election Interference Campaign”) and otherwise sow discord within U.S. society. The campaign had four components:
- In September and October 2020, members of the conspiracy conducted reconnaissance on, and attempted to compromise, approximately eleven state voter websites, including state voter registration websites and state voter information websites. Those efforts resulted in the successful exploitation of a misconfigured computer system of a particular U.S. state (“State-1”), and the resulting unauthorized downloading of more than 100,000 State-1 voters’ information.
- In October 2020, members of the conspiracy, claiming to be a “group of Proud Boys volunteers,” sent Facebook messages and emails (the “False Election Messages”) to Republican Senators, Republican members of Congress, individuals associated with the Presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, White House advisors, and members of the media. The False Election Messages claimed that the Democratic Party was planning to exploit “serious security vulnerabilities” in state voter registration websites to “edit mail-in ballots or even register non-existent voters.” The False Election Messages were accompanied by a video (the “False Election Video”) which purported, via simulated intrusions and the use of State-1 voter data, to depict an individual affiliated with the Proud Boys hacking into state voter websites and using stolen voter information to create fraudulent absentee ballots through the Federal Voting Assistance Program (“FVAP”) for military and overseas voters.[2]
- Also in October 2020, the conspirators engaged in an online voter intimidation campaign involving the dissemination of a threatening message (the “Voter Threat Emails”), purporting to be from the Proud Boys, to tens of thousands of registered voters, including some voters whose information the conspiracy had obtained from State-1’s website. The emails were sent to registered Democrats, and threatened the recipients with physical injury if they did not change their party affiliation and vote for President Trump.
- On November 4, 2020, the day after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, the conspirators sought to leverage earlier September and October 2020 intrusions into an American media company’s (“Media Company-1”) computer networks. Specifically, on that day, the conspirators attempted to use stolen credentials to again access Media Company-1’s network, which would have provided them another vehicle for further disseminating false claims concerning the election through conspirator-modified or created content. However, because of an earlier FBI victim notification, Media Company-1 had by that time mitigated the conspirators’ unauthorized access and these log-in attempts failed.
Background on Kazemi and Kashian
SEYYED MOHAMMAD HOSEIN MUSA KAZEMI and SAJJAD KASHIAN are experienced Iran-based computer hackers that worked as contractors for an Iran-based company called Eeleyanet Gostar, now known as Emennet Pasargad. Eeleyanet Gostar purported to provide cybersecurity services within Iran. Among other things, Eeleyanet Gostar is known to have provided services to the Iranian Government, including to the Guardian Council.
As part of his role in the Election Interference Campaign, KAZEMI compromised computer servers that were used to send the Voter Threat Emails, prepared such emails, and compromised the systems of Media Company-1. KASHIAN’s role was to manage the conspirators’ computer infrastructure used to carry out the Voter Threat Email campaign, and to purchase social media accounts in furtherance of the Election Interference Campaign.
* * *
KAZEMI, 24, and KASHIAN, 27, are both charged with one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of voter intimidation, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison; and one count of transmission of interstate threats, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. KAZEMI is additionally charged with one count of unauthorized computer intrusion, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of computer fraud: knowingly damaging a protected computer, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the assigned judge.
Concurrent with the unsealing of the indictment, the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated Emennet Pasargad, KAZEMI, KASHIAN, and four other Iranian nationals comprising Emennet Pasargad leadership pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13848, “Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election.” Additionally, the Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on or about the KAZEMI and KASHIAN’s activities.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, including the work of the Cleveland FBI Field Office and the FBI Cyber Division.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Dina McLeod and Louis A. Pellegrino are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Adam Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
[2] In actuality, the computer intrusions depicted in the False Election Video were simulated intrusions created by members of the conspiracy using their own server and data obtained during the State-1 exploitation. Further, the FVAP could not actually be leveraged in the manner implied by the False Election Video.
Two Prolific Delaware Valley-Area Pharmacy Burglars Sentenced to a Total of over 24 Years for Participating in Almost 50 Break-insRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Robert Hopkins, 26, and William Limper, 43, both of Philadelphia, PA, were sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, and 16 years and four months in prison, respectively, by United States District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone for their roles in a conspiracy to burglarize or attempt to burglarize 49 pharmacies in the City of Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs during a five year period. Hopkins was sentenced to a period of three years’ supervised release and Limper to five years’ supervised release following their terms of imprisonment.
In March 2021, Hopkins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit pharmacy burglary; conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances; pharmacy burglary; attempted pharmacy burglary; and attempt to possess pharmaceutical controlled substances with the intent to distribute. In June 2021, Limper pleaded guilty to multiple counts of pharmacy burglary and attempted pharmacy burglary; possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and related conspiracy, drug and gun offenses.
Limper, Hopkins, and two co-conspirators who were also indicted for their involvement in this conspiracy, Raul Rivera and Michael Dombrowski, also of Philadelphia, PA, burglarized pharmacies in order to steal controlled substances – primarily Schedule II opiates such as oxycodone and Percocet tablets – for the purpose of distributing them to others for profit from about November 2014 until April 2019. The defendants forced entry into the pharmacies at nighttime with burglary tools such as crow bars and Halligan bars (specialized forcible entry tools used by law enforcement and firefighters) when the pharmacies were closed. The defendants concealed their identities with clothing and masks over their faces, and they used scanners to monitor police activity and two-way radios to communicate with each other during the burglaries.
The conspirators thoroughly planned and executed these burglaries with great precision. For example, in order to facilitate quick getaways in the event that they were detected by witnesses or law enforcement, the defendants used stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT sport utility vehicles (SUV) with powerful engines. When they were not using the stolen vehicles to perpetrate burglaries, the defendants concealed the vehicles in garages in a commercial storage lot, where they also hid their tools and the clothing they wore during the burglaries to avoid detection by law enforcement. After each of the burglaries, the defendants divided the stolen narcotics among themselves for the purpose of selling them to others.
Dombrowski and Rivera also pleaded guilty to similar charges and are awaiting sentencing in December 2021 and March 2022, respectively.
“Limper, Hopkins and their co-conspirators were able to carry out their years-long burglary spree using careful, calculated tactics,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “They terrorized communities and small businesses across the Philadelphia region, all while compounding the impact of the opioid epidemic for their own benefit. I want to thank the large group of law enforcement partners who worked together in a highly coordinated effort using targeted investigative techniques to bring these defendants to justice.”
“Limper, Hopkins, and crew were a crime wave unto themselves,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “We’re talking about a long-term criminal operation involving many dozens of pharmacy burglaries, with the stolen pills then sold out on the street amid this area’s raging opioid crisis. The FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force worked with our law enforcement partners in and outside of the city to make the case that led to today’s sentencings, and we’re all gratified to see such prolific criminals held accountable.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Bristol Township Police Department, the Upper Southampton Police Department, the Chester Police Department, the Lower Merion Police Department, the Upper Chichester Township Police Department, the Upland Borough Police Department, the Folcroft Police Department, the Sharon Hill Police Department, the Central Bucks Regional Police Department, the Hatboro Police Department, the Upper Darby Police Department, the Haverford Township Police Department, the Ridley Township Police Department, the Bristol Borough Police Department, the Lower Southampton Township Police Department, the Falls Township Police Department, the Springfield Township Police Department, the Marple Township Police Department, and the Warrington Township Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Zaleski.
Two Local Men Plead Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Production IndictmentsRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Michael J. McClure, 44, of DeFuniak Springs, and Jeffrey W. Boone, Jr., 32, of Shalimar, pled guilty this past week to federal charges related to the production and distribution of child pornography, announced Jason R. Coody, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Though the two cases are similar in nature, the federal indictments were independently handed down by a grand jury in Pensacola earlier this year.
In McClure’s case, an undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation witnessed McClure distributing images of child pornography online to a group of like-minded individuals on the social media platform Kik Messenger. McClure was personally producing child pornography of a minor who was less than ten years old. During his guilty plea, McClure admitted to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise with others on Kik Messenger who were working together to victimize multiple minors across the country. McClure was engaged in such activity during 2020 to 2021.
“There is no greater charge than the protection of our children,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Coody. “Acts of such depravity are horrific and will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted. Our law enforcement partners are to be commended for the swift, collaborative efforts, which resulted in the rescue of these children.”
In Boone’s case, another undercover agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation witnessed Boone distributing images of child pornography that he was creating in real time and distributing to others online. His victim was also less than ten years of age. Law enforcement was able to immediately identify Boone and execute a search warrant on his residence to stop the illegal activity. Boone was also using Kik Messenger to engage in such crimes during 2021.
"These cases represent the FBI's relentless pursuit of those who seek to exploit the most innocent members of our community," said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. "Together with our law enforcement partners, we will never waver in our efforts to protect our children from harm."
Both McClure and Boone are scheduled to be sentenced in January 2022. McClure faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ up to life imprisonment, and Boone faces a mandatory minimum 15 years’ up to 30 years’ imprisonment.
These cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg, Jennifer H. Callahan, and Amanda Gordon.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Two Iranian Nationals Charged for Cyber-Enabled Disinformation and Threat Campaign Designed to Influence the 2020 U.S. Presidential ElectionRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed in New York today charging two Iranian nationals for their involvement in a cyber-enabled campaign to intimidate and influence American voters, and otherwise undermine voter confidence and sow discord, in connection with the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
According to court documents, Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi (سید محمد حسین موسی کاظمی), aka Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazem, aka Hosein Zamani, 24, and Sajjad Kashian (سجاد کاشیان), aka Kiarash Nabavi, 27, both of Iran, obtained confidential U.S. voter information from at least one state election website; sent threatening email messages to intimidate and interfere with voters; created and disseminated a video containing disinformation about purported election infrastructure vulnerabilities; attempted to access, without authorization, several states’ voting-related websites; and successfully gained unauthorized access to a U.S. media company’s computer network that, if not for successful FBI and victim company efforts to mitigate, would have provided the conspirators another vehicle to disseminate false claims after the election.
“This indictment details how two Iran-based actors waged a targeted, coordinated campaign to erode confidence in the integrity of the U.S. electoral system and to sow discord among Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The allegations illustrate how foreign disinformation campaigns operate and seek to influence the American public. The Department is committed to exposing and disrupting malign foreign influence efforts using all available tools, including criminal charges.”
“As alleged, Kazemi and Kashian were part of a coordinated conspiracy in which Iranian hackers sought to undermine faith and confidence in the U.S. presidential election,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Working with others, Kazemi and Kashian accessed voter information from at least one state’s voter database, threatened U.S. voters via email, and even disseminated a fictitious video that purported to depict actors fabricating overseas ballots. The United States will never tolerate any foreign actors’ attempts to undermine our free and democratic elections. As a result of the charges unsealed today, and the concurrent efforts of our U.S. government partners, Kazemi and Kashian will forever look over their shoulders as we strive to bring them to justice.”
“The FBI remains committed to countering malicious cyber activity targeting our democratic process,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Working rapidly with our private sector and U.S. government partners and ahead of the election, we were able to disrupt and mitigate this malicious activity – and then to enable today’s joint, sequenced operations against the adversary. Today’s announcement shows what we can accomplish as a community and a country when we work together, and the FBI will continue to do its part to keep our democracy safe.”
According to the allegations contained in the indictment unsealed today:
The Voter Intimidation and Influence Campaign
Starting in approximately August 2020, and proceeding until November 2020, Kazemi, Kashian, and other co-conspirators began a coordinated, campaign to undermine faith and confidence in the 2020 presidential election (the “Voter Intimidation and Influence Campaign”) and otherwise sow discord within U.S. society. The Campaign had four components:
- In September and October 2020, members of the conspiracy conducted reconnaissance on, and attempted to compromise, approximately 11 state voter websites, including state voter registration websites and state voter information websites. Those efforts resulted in the successful exploitation of a misconfigured computer system of a particular U.S. state (“State-1”), and the resulting unauthorized downloading of information concerning more than 100,000 of State-1’s voters.
- In October 2020, members of the conspiracy, claiming to be a “group of Proud Boys volunteers,” sent Facebook messages and emails (the “False Election Messages”) to Republican Senators, Republican members of Congress, individuals associated with the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, White House advisors, and members of the media. The False Election Messages claimed that the Democratic Party was planning to exploit “serious security vulnerabilities” in state voter registration websites to “edit mail-in ballots or even register non-existent voters.” The False Election Messages were accompanied by a video (the “False Election Video”) carrying the Proud Boys logo, which purported, via simulated intrusions and the use of State-1 voter data, to depict an individual hacking into state voter websites and using stolen voter information to create fraudulent absentee ballots through the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) for military and overseas voters.[1]
- Also in October 2020, the conspirators engaged in an online voter intimidation campaign involving the dissemination of a threatening message (the “Voter Threat Emails”), purporting to be from the Proud Boys, to tens of thousands of registered voters, including some voters whose information the conspiracy had obtained from State-1’s website. The emails were sent to registered Democrats and threatened the recipients with physical injury if they did not change their party affiliation and vote for President Trump.
- On Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the conspirators sought to leverage earlier September and October 2020 intrusions into an American media company’s (Media Company-1) computer networks. Specifically, on that day, the conspirators attempted to use stolen credentials to again access Media Company-1’s network, which would have provided them another vehicle for further disseminating false claims concerning the election through conspirator-modified or created content. However, because of an earlier FBI victim notification, Media Company-1 had by that time mitigated the conspirators’ unauthorized access and these log-in attempts failed.
Background on Kazemi and Kashian
Kazemi and Kashian are experienced Iran-based computer hackers who worked as contractors for an Iran-based company formerly known as Eeleyanet Gostar, and now known as Emennet Pasargad. Eeleyanet Gostar purported to provide cybersecurity services within Iran. Among other things, Eeleyanet Gostar is known to have provided services to the Iranian government, including to the Guardian Council.
As part of his role in the Voter Intimidation and Influence Campaign, Kazemi compromised computer servers that were used to send the Voter Threat Emails, drafted those emails, and compromised the systems of Media Company-1. Kashian managed the conspirators’ computer infrastructure used to carry out the Voter Threat Emails campaign and he purchased social media accounts in furtherance of the Voter Intimidation and Influence Campaign.
Kazemi and Kashian are both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, intimidate voters, and transmit interstate threats, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of voter intimidation, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison; and one count of transmission of interstate threats, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Kazemi is additionally charged with one count of unauthorized computer intrusion, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of computer fraud, namely, knowingly damaging a protected computer, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Concurrent with the unsealing of the indictment, the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Emennet Pasargad, Kazemi, Kashian, and four other Iranian nationals comprising Emennet Pasargad leadership pursuant to Executive Order 13848, “Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election.” Additionally, the Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on or about the Kazemi and Kashian’s activities.
The FBI’s Cyber Division and Cleveland Field Office are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dina McLeod and Louis A. Pellegrino and Trial Attorney Adam Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
[1] In actuality, the computer intrusions depicted in the False Election Video were simulated intrusions created by members of the conspiracy using their own server and data obtained during the State-1 exploitation. Further, the FVAP could not actually be leveraged in the manner implied by the False Election Video.
Two Aryan Circle Gang Leaders Convicted on Racketeering ChargesRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a Texas man and a Missouri man on Tuesday of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations charges stemming from their membership in the white supremacy prison gang, the Aryan Circle, between 2010 and 2021.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Aryan Circle is a race-based, violent prison gang with hundreds of members operating throughout the country, both inside and outside of prisons. The Aryan Circle enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through threats, intimidation, assaults, and murder.
Evidence presented at trial showed that William Glenn Chunn, aka Big Head, 39, of Conroe, Texas, is one of the five highest-ranking Aryan Circle leaders in the nation. He used his leadership role to order violent stabbings against rival gang members and other victims, as well as to seek out and retaliate against individuals he believed were cooperating with law enforcement. Evidence presented at trial showed that Jesse Paul Blankenship, aka JP, 38, of Stratford, Missouri, “put in work” by committing violence on behalf of the gang, including shooting at two victims inside their home and participating in a kidnapping and removal of another member’s patch, or gang tattoo, by burning it from the victim’s skin using a metal rod heated with a blowtorch. After committing these crimes, Blankenship moved up in rank in Aryan Circle and has since ordered additional acts of violence.
Chunn was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, including an enhanced sentencing factor for an attempted murder he ordered relating to a violent stabbing. Blankenship was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, kidnapping in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in aid of racketeering. Both defendants face maximum penalties of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the following agencies: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Montgomery County (TX) Precinct One Constable’s Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; New Jersey Department of Corrections-Special Investigations Division; Indiana State Police; Fort Smith (AR) Police Department; Arkansas Department of Corrections; Arnold (MO) Police Department; Jefferson County (MO) Sheriff’s Department; St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; St. Louis County (MO) Police Department; Indiana Department of Corrections; Carrollton (TX) Police Department; Montgomery County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Travis County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Tarrant County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office; Smith County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; McCurtain County (OK) Sheriff’s Office; Montgomery County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Liberty County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Harris County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Mercer County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) District Attorney’s Office; and the Sebastian County (AR) District Attorney’s Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.
Trial Attorneys Beth Lipman and Rebecca Dunnan of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Rapp of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
Two Aryan Circle Gang Leaders Convicted of Racketeering Charges in Beaumont Federal TrialRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas –A Texas man and a Missouri man were convicted at trial of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations charges stemming from their membership in the white supremacy prison gang, the Aryan Circle, between 2010 and 2021, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Aryan Circle is a race-based, violent prison gang with hundreds of members operating throughout the country, both inside and outside of prisons. The Aryan Circle enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through threats, intimidation, assaults, and murder.
A federal jury convicted a Texas man and a Missouri man on Tuesday of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations charges stemming from their membership in the white supremacy prison gang, the Aryan Circle, between 2010 and 2021.
Evidence presented at trial showed that William Glenn Chunn, aka Big Head, 39, of Conroe, Texas, is one of the five highest-ranking Aryan Circle leaders in the nation. He used his leadership role to order violent stabbings against rival gang members and other victims, as well as to seek out and retaliate against individuals he believed were cooperating with law enforcement. Evidence presented at trial showed that Jesse Paul Blankenship, aka JP, 38, of Stratford, Missouri, “put in work” by committing violence on behalf of the gang, including shooting at two victims inside their home and participating in a kidnapping and removal of another member’s patch, or gang tattoo, by burning it from the victim’s skin using a metal rod heated with a blowtorch. After committing these crimes, Blankenship moved up in rank in Aryan Circle and has since ordered additional acts of violence.
“This case exemplifies great collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement to not only stop gang violence in prison, but also to protect innocent persons when that activity overflows into our communities, said Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who advocate harm to others, and to specifically target the leaders of violent gangs.”
“Today’s verdicts keep two violent white supremacists from wreaking havoc and hate on the streets of America,” said ATF SAC Fred Milanowski. “This marks the 36th and 37thconviction under Operation Noble Virtue, which began in Houston and culminated with racketeering prosecutions in six states. This far-reaching national investigation serves as a model for what can be achieved through strong collaboration with our federal, state and local partners”
Chunn was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, including an enhanced sentencing factor for an attempted murder he ordered relating to a violent stabbing. Blankenship was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, kidnapping in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in aid of racketeering. Both defendants face maximum penalties of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the following agencies: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Montgomery County (TX) Precinct One Constable’s Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; New Jersey Department of Corrections-Special Investigations Division; Indiana State Police; Fort Smith (AR) Police Department; Arkansas Department of Corrections; Arnold (MO) Police Department; Jefferson County (MO) Sheriff’s Department; St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; St. Louis County (MO) Police Department; Indiana Department of Corrections; Carrollton (TX) Police Department; Montgomery County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Travis County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Tarrant County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office; Smith County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; McCurtain County (OK) Sheriff’s Office; Montgomery County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Liberty County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Harris County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Mercer County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) District Attorney’s Office; and the Sebastian County (AR) District Attorney’s Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Rapp of the Eastern District of Texas along with Trial Attorneys Beth Lipman and Rebecca Dunnan of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting these cases.
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Texas Woman Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Child Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Texas woman was sentenced yesterday to 18 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for her role in a child sex trafficking conspiracy to recruit and exploit a child in multiple states.
“This conviction and sentence demonstrates our office’s and our law enforcement partners’ unwavering commitment to combating sex trafficking and child exploitation,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada. “Through our ongoing collaboration and expanded partnerships, we will keep working to hold accountable in federal court those who use fraud, force, or other illicit means to victimize children.”
“This sentencing is a success in the fight against those who exploit the vulnerable and illustrates our dedication to bring these criminals to justice,” said Aaron C. Rouse, FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge.
After a six-day jury trial in May 2021, Demecia Shontres Washington (42, of Dallas, Texas) was found guilty of one count each of: conspiracy to commit sex trafficking; sex trafficking; conspiracy to transport for prostitution or other criminal sexual activity; transportation for prostitution or other criminal sexual activity; conspiracy to sexually exploit children; sexual exploitation of children; and distribution of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon presided over the trial and sentencing hearing.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from August 2018 to September 2018, Demecia Washington conspired with co-defendant Jimmy David Washington Jr. (36, of Lubbock, Texas) to recruit and coerce a child to engage in commercial sex acts and to produce child pornography. Demecia Washington and Jimmy Washington Jr. transported the child from Texas to New Mexico and Nevada with the intent that she engage in prostitution.
Co-defendant Jimmy Washington Jr. previously pleaded guilty to transportation of a minor for purposes of prostitution. In April 2021, he was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Burton, Bianca Pucci, and Elham Roohani prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
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Texas Man Charged with Commercial Bribery and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on November 17, 2021, Mark Holmes, age 66, of Hughes Springs, Texas, was charged in a criminal information with honest services wire fraud and failing to remit employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the information alleges that from 2014 through 2017, Holmes, as the General Manager of a Pennsylvania food services company, accepted approximately $400,000 in bribes and kickbacks from two temporary staffing companies, in exchange for their hiring employees. The two temporary staffing companies, in turn, received approximately $7,800,000 from Holmes’s employer.
Holmes also was charged with failing to remit employment taxes to the IRS for a separate temporary staffing company, Encore Staffing Solutions LLC, that he owned and operated with other coconspirators. From March 2018 through December 2020, Holmes and his coconspirators allegedly failed to pay approximately $135,000 in employment taxes owed by Encore Staffing Solutions LLC to the IRS.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigations Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo.
Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for the most serious offense is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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